A120 at the Stansted Airport exit
Signposted from the road.
CM24 1PY
map and directions
Single site located at a junction.
This is the service station virtually inside Stansted Airport. For the Welcome Break by the large roundabout above the M11, see Birchanger Green.
Stansted services is a small, retail park-style facility surrounded by car parks serving Stansted Airport. It is so close to Birchanger that the signs at the Priory Wood Roundabout give drivers a choice of both services. This place is notorious for its strict parking procedures.
Facilities
Catering: McDonald's Drive Thru, Starbucks Drive Thru Amenities: Holiday Inn Express, Premier Inn Outdoor Space: Grass bank next to Holiday Inn Express car park; public footpath connections Charging Points: bp pulse 150kW CCS & 120kW CHAdeMO Forecourt: BP, M&S Food, Wild Bean Café, Car Wash, Jet Wash, Free Cash Machine
Parking Prices
Free parking is provided for customers using the facilities only. Owing to the proximity of the airport, rules are very strictly enforced and you should check the signs before leaving your vehicle.
Parking and use of the bp forecourt is limited to 30 minutes maximum stay from entry to exit, whilst parking within the McDonald's and Starbucks car parks are limited to 60 minutes maximum stay. Parking and then walking elsewhere (including walking between Starbucks and McDonald's), or parking outside of a marked bay, will result in a charge ("fine") being issued.
In the Starbucks car park, customers are required to pay for parking after 60 minutes, charged at £4.50 for up to 2 hours or £9 for up to 3 hours, with a maximum stay of 3 hours. Fees can be paid via the RingGo app using location code 50025.
Restrictions and fees at the above locations are strictly enforced by MET Parking.
Parking within the Holiday Inn Express hotel car park is for guests only and guests are required to provide their vehicle registration number to reception in order to receive free parking during their stay. These restrictions are strictly enforced by ParkingEye.
Parking within the Premier Inn hotel car park is barrier controlled upon entry and restricted to hotel guests only, with guests requiring to provide their vehicle registration number to receive free parking during their stay. Chargeable parking is also available via the YourParkingSpace app using location code 10001, and these restrictions are strictly enforced by ParkMaven Ltd.
This information is provided to us by third parties. You should always check with staff on site.
Contact Details
🏢 Address:
Thremhall Avenue
London Stansted Airport
Stansted
Essex
CM24 1PY
Trivia and History
The A120 here only opened in 2003, with the land here being identified for future development. The development was called Southgate Park, but this name is rarely used, given the famous airport positioned next door. The service station is also located on airport land, meaning that it can only be accessed by using the private road network around the airport perimeter. Access to the service area is not a public right of way, but it does mean that vehicles working for Stansted Airport, which are subject to different regulations, can access the facilities.
The first facility to open was a BP forecourt in 2003, as one of their BP Connect sites featuring a Wild Bean Café. This was joined by a Holiday Inn Express to the north in 2004. Surrounding land was then put up to let, with McDonald's purchasing the land to the east of the forecourt and building a drive-thru restaurant in 2008.
Expansion
Plans in 2010 saw the land next to the McDonald's designated for two drive-thru units, labelled as 'Phase 1' and 'Phase 2'. Phase 1 went ahead shortly after gaining planning permission, with a Euro Garages operated Starbucks Drive Thru opening in late 2011. The final piece of land, west of the forecourt, was purchased by Premier Inn in 2011 who opened a 300-bed hotel.
Phase 2 of the drive-thru units still hadn't been built by the mid-2010s, however in 2016 two kiosks were installed in the car park serving street food during the daytime. These were later removed during 2018. In September 2021, a proposal was announced which would see a Taco Bell drive thru restaurant built in this area.
The BP forecourt later gained a M&S Simply Food store in 2014. BP also added six bp pulse electric vehicle charging bays here in August 2024.
Stansted Airport are currently build two more drive thru units, and 10 fast chargers, at a separate development closer to the airport, at Coopers End Roundabout. This could take some attention away from the official service area.
Parking Issues
Despite looking like one piece of land, the McDonald's and Starbucks are legally regarded as separate premises. They have separate landowners, but share a common entrance and are enforced by the same company, who insist that they are totally separate car parks and are notorious for charging people for walking between the two.
A 2019 edition of Joe Lycett's Got Your Back investigated the parking situation, in a feature which culminated in a skit that claimed to find an unusual way of evading the cameras.
Alternatives
| Previous: | Next: | |
| Birchanger Green (2 miles) | Services on the A120 | Great Dunmow (4 miles) Braintree (13 miles) |
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